Across Indonesia, people will find a rich variety of foods from place to place that differs in taste and texture and cooking processes. Distinctive foods are abound anywhere, including in Jogja. Many local foods are offered on the streets or big restaurants with prices ranging from affordable to more costly ones. In Jogja people can also enjoy their meals in a relax place like sitting on a mat on the sidewalks or on a wood bench with street musicians entertaining you, or a more comfortable atmosphere at a café and restaurant. Below are several choices to try.
1. Gudeg
When one hears the word Jogja, what comes to mind next is gudeg. Gudeg is the most popular dish of the city. It is actually unripe jackfruit being cooked in coconut milk and palm sugar, seasoned with herbs and spices. The sugar makes it sweet, which is the taste the city is known for. Gudeg is to be enjoyed with rice and served with other dishes such as eggs, tempeh and tofu, as well as spicy beef skin. Gudeg can be found everywhere in Yogyakarta from small warungs to bigger eateries and you can find it from dawn till midnight.
2. Noodles
A popular dish from Jogja is bakmi godog or boiled noodle. The dish is made of yellow noodle, chicken, eggs, and vegetables. Served warm in chicken broth, the dish is perfect for an evening meal. Another variant is bakmi goreng (fried noodle) which is added with soy sauce. Usually both variants are served with condiments which include cucumber pickles and chillies. The sellers would often prepare this dish in a pushcart and they can be found in every corner of the city usually at the evening.
3. Soto and Bakso
Another dish that can be very easily found throughout the city is the soto ayam. Basically, it is clear soup with chicken shreds, vermicelli, and vegetables. Local people love to have it with spice sauce and ketchup. Of course, this dish should be eaten with rice while other side-dishes can be added, including fried tempeh and tofu, fried meat, crackers, satay, or others.
Like the noodles, soto ayam is sold at many warungs, restaurants, or pushcarts. Both kinds of food are also very affordable.
Bakso is basically meatball soup which is normally served with noodles. Bakso can be found everywhere around the country. Sometimes the seller sells the dish in a pushcart, going from home to home.
4. Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice)
This dish is actually not just the specialty of Jogja as you can find it anywhere across the archipelago, but this is one of the most favourite types of dish. Like in other places, here nasi goreng is usually sold at the evening. The rice is fried in little cooking oil with shallot and garlic, chilli, soy sauce, and shrimp paste. The dish is later served with other side-dishes such as fried eggs, fried chicken, seafood, crackers, pickles, or tomato and cucumber slices, etc.
5. Bakpia
Jogja is not only famous for its iconic gudeg dish, but also snacks which are plentiful. The most popular one is bakpia, sweet rolls of cakes with mung beans paste in the middle. Now there are many variants of bakpia fillings, for instance chocolate, cheese, durian, and so on. People who come to Jogja often buy this snack as a gift from Jogja for friends and family back home. Bakpia comes in small boxes and is sold everywhere around the city, but the most famous one can be found in the Pathuk area near Malioboro Street or Tugu Station. There visitors can see how the cakes are prepared, too.
6. Wedang Ronde
Javanese people have a traditional drink that tastes sweet, warm, and flavourful. Wedang Ronde (or often simply called as ronde) is a ginger drink served with glutinous rice flour balls with sweet fillings.
Other ingredients to add flavour and texture are arenga pinnata fruit, bread slices, and peanuts. The drink is made of ginger boiled in water, palm sugar, and lemongrass. The drink is usually served in small bowls. It is perfect during cold weather or rainy season. The drink is believed to be able to cure sore throat or nausea and good for the stamina. You can wait at your own abode at evenings for the seller of the drink who goes from place to place pushing their food-cart to meet their customers or you can find them at the side of the street near you.